Nebraska state senators elect speaker and committee chairs on first day of 2025 session
By Fred Knapp , Senior Reporter/Producer and Brian Beach
, Reporter Nebraska Public Media
8 de Enero de 2025 a las 17:30 ·

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The 109th Nebraska Legislature is officially in session.
The Norris Chamber at the state capitol was filled with the families of senators Wednesday morning.
The newly appointed Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court Jeffrey Funke swore in the 25 senators elected or reelected in November.
After the swearing in ceremony, senators got to work electing the Speaker of the Legislature and 17 committee chairs.
Sen. John Arch, a Republican from La Vista, was unanimously reelected as speaker. He has held the position since 2023.
Arch reflected on his time in the Legislature and encouraged the body’s newest members.
“We're all very privileged to have the rare opportunity to serve the people of Nebraska as a member of the Legislature, and I can guarantee you, you will also find this experience very awe inspiring and rewarding,” he said. “That's been my experience in my experience in my six years here, and it certainly has been my experience the past two years of serving as your speaker.”
Legislative Clerk Brandon Metzler, background, and Assistant Clerk Mike Hybl, foreground, collect ballots from senators during committee chair elections.
In 11 of the chair races, candidates ran unopposed and were elected through a unanimous voice vote.
Unopposed committee chairs included Sens. Ben Hansen (Executive Board), Christy Armendariz (Committee on Committees), Barry DeKay (Agriculture), Rob Clements (Appropriations), Mike Jacobson (Banking, Commerce and Insurance), Rick Holdcroft (General Affairs), Rita Sanders (Government, Military and Veterans Affairs), Carolyn Bosn (Judiciary), Tom Brandt (Natural Resources), Mike Moser (Transportation and Telecommunications) and Terrell McKinney (Urban Affairs).
In the six contested chair races, senators wrote their votes on paper ballots which were then collected and tallied on a whiteboard at the front of the chamber.
Republican Sen. Kathleen Kauth handily won her election against Democratic Sen. John Cavanaugh to become chair of the Business and Labor Committee and GOP Sen. Brad von Gillern defeated Sen. George Dungan, a Democrat, to become chair of the Revenue Committee.
The vote margin in both races was fairly similar to the partisan margin of the Nebraska Legislature as a whole.
While the Unicameral is officially nonpartisan, this year’s body includes 33 Republicans, 15 Democrats and one progressive independent.
Two elections featured multiple Republicans vying for chair.
Sen. Brian Hardin, a businessman from Gering, and Sen. Merv Riepe, a former hospital administrator from Ralston, each ran for chair of the Health and Human Services Committee.
Hardin is seen as conservative member in the Legislature, while Riepe has a more moderate voting record. In 2023, Riepe was the lone member of the GOP who did not vote to end debate on a 6-week abortion ban, dooming the proposal.
Hardin won Wednesday’s chair election, 28 to 21.
Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil ran for reelection as Education Committee chair against Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward.
During last summer’s special session on property taxes, Murman championed Gov. Jim Pillen’s plan to have the state take over funding of K-12 schools. Hughes introduced legislation that would have incrementally dropped the amount of property taxes school districts could collect.
Murman was reelected as Education Committee chair with 29 votes to Hughes’ 20.
Two other chair races featuring a Republican and Democrat were much closer than the Unicameral’s partisan makeup would suggest.
Republican Sen. Loren Lippincott became chair of the Rules Committee over Democratic Sen. Wendy DeBoer on a 27 to 22 vote.
Lippincott said he would consider lowering the threshold needed to overcome a filibuster from two-thirds to three-fifths. In the 49-member Legislature, that would reduce the number of votes needed from 33 to 30.
“It’s an argument or a discussion, a debate, that we need to look at, because Nebraska has had a lot of our work slowed down in the past due to the filibuster,” Lippincott said. “I think it's the objective and the desire of every state senator, whether you're Republican or Democrat, left or right, everybody wants to have their own bill have a moment of time in the sun to be heard and debated.”
The youngest member of the Legislature, 30-year-old Sen. Beau Ballard, will become the new chair of the Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee.
The Republican narrowly defeated Democratic Sen. Danielle Conrad 25 to 24 on the second vote after the initial election was tied 24 votes each.
Conrad said the election results show that nonpartisanship is still alive and well.
“I am firmly committed to the gift that Nebraskans have given us with this beautiful, unique, effective, nonpartisan, unicameral Legislature,” she said. “I know people are eager to write it’s obituary in this tumultuous political time, but make no mistake, the Legislature still is nonpartisan, and we're working together across the aisle, across the state, in a very constructive and positive way to deliver for Nebraskans.”
Thursday afternoon, newly elected members of the Board of Regents and the State Board of Education will be sworn in at the Norris Chamber.
Members will also likely adopt a resolution thanking former President Jimmy Carter for his service to the country.
Senators will be able to introduce new legislation through Jan. 22.